The Millennial Report: Maintaining a Physical Presence in the Channel
This past weekend I attended one of the many channel partner conferences that are often a part of my duties at The VAR Guy, and, as always, I was surprised at how few attendees were in my age group at this particular event. In fact, I so rarely see millennials sitting among the rest of their reseller peers that it is often more surprising to actually see someone else in their 20s or 30s in the crowd.
This past weekend I attended one of the many channel partner conferences that are often a part of my duties at The VAR Guy, and, as always, I was surprised at how few attendees were in my age group at this particular event. In fact, I so rarely see millennials sitting among the rest of their reseller peers that it is often more surprising to actually see someone else in their 20s or 30s in the crowd.
The lack of fresh faces at these gatherings is a real issue because it gives the impression that there are no young people working in the channel. This simply isn’t the case.
Before I go any further, I get it: Many of the smaller partner conferences cater exclusively to elite gold and platinum level partners, of which there are notably fewer millennials due to their lack of experience in the channel. But this problem isn’t isolated to the intimate events with a few hundred partners in attendance—it’s just as rare to see a millennial in a crowded Las Vegas convention center during a Cisco or HP event as it is to see one at a distributor or SMB conference.
Even though connecting with your peers is easier than ever before via social media, video chat and email, I would argue it is more important to step away from your desk and shake hands with your peers in a 1:1 setting. In an age where you can send an email to virtually anyone you want, what’s to stop the person on the other end from forgetting you exist?
It’s much harder to ignore someone or forget about their requests when they are standing right in front of you. And as an added bonus, that person will know what you look like and how you sound in person, which gives you an even better chance to make a lasting impression. I can bet you a hundred bucks that every single one of you has walked right past at least one person you speak to regularly on the phone during event simply because you have never actually met them in person.
Getting face time with your colleagues is, arguably, even more important for first-time channel partners or those of us who are new to the industry. By showing up in person to these events, you are proving you are both dedicated to your business and interested in going the extra mile to make your services better than before. And chances are, your peers will be impressed you took the time out of your busy schedule to meet with them, which potentially could open up new opportunities. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone.
The next time you receive an invite in your email to fly out to a distributor or vendor event, consider how much good a short trip can do for your business. At the very least, you will come home with a few business cards and some new information about what is happening in the channel. But I can guarantee that in most cases you’ll return with a lot of new ideas and fresh ways to jump start your business that you could have never dreamed of just from sitting behind your desk.
So get out there and shake some hands—you never know what opportunities you could discover.
